The Life That I Have
by inlovewiththe80s
Summary: Draco must confront an old friend who comes to Hogwarts during his last year.


The Life That I Have  
Chapter 1: Who Is She?!  
(4/9/04)  
  
Draco slid gracefully onto the bench at the Slytherin table. Well as gracefully as a hungry 17-year-old boy who spent the whole carriage ride from Hogsmeade listening to Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zambini go on and on trading sappy "I love you's". It was his last year at Hogwarts and even being made Head Boy didn't improve his spirits. As far as he was concerned this year was going to be horrible. The Malfoys had spent all summer alongside fellow Death Eaters and the Dark Lord preparing for the downfall of precious Potter and Dumbledore. But did that happen? – oooooooh no. The battle that ended the Dark Lord's reign lasted a whole 2 hours and 23 minutes.  
Draco smirked as he remembered that fateful day back in August. He was up in his room laying on his bed counting all the hours he'd wasted at the Dark Lords hide out and for what - the destruction of mudbloods and muggles? The more he thought about it the more he realized he could care less. As far as Draco was concerned the Dark Lord was being way to sensitive about the whole pureblood issue and he should just give up. Sure, the Golden Gryffindor Trio was annoying but wasn't annihilating half the wizarding community just a little on the drastic side? Besides he had all year to make their lives hell. Just one more year until he was out on his own and he was definitely not counting on seeing Pothead, Weasel, or Mudblood after that.  
So there he was – planning ways to piss off Potter when none other than his dearest dad, Lucius, bursts through the door.  
"Come, Draco," he said, grinning like an idiot. "We have a meeting with the Dark Lord!"  
With an overly dramatic sigh Draco grabbed the cloak he'd received for his 17th birthday a week earlier and followed Lucius down to the foyer (AN: is that right? Isn't that the "mudroom" inside the house by the front door? Well you get the idea). Well this should be interesting, Draco thought as they appeared at the entrance to the Dark Lords hide out. The next 2 ½ hours consisted of an ambush from the Ministry – bet the Dark Lord wasn't expecting that – and a pretty fierce battle. Man, it was a party, everyone was there; Pothead and his two faithful sidekicks, Weasel's dad, Dumbledore, the werewolf that taught in 3rd year, some chick with pink hair, and a bunch of other wizards.  
Of course it would be Potter that would get the Dark Lord – with some tricky soul/body terminating spell. Need it be explained that it was the Mudblood-bookworm that discovered it, like Pothead was that smart. How ironic, the Golden Trio defeats the Dark Lord and is back just one week later at Hogwarts to play the hero roles.  
Draco was finished replaying the summer over in his head and had moved on to thinking about his parents and the other death eaters, rotting away in Azkaban, when the Sorting Ceremony ended and Dumbledore had moved on to announcements. Draco was forced out of his reverie and turned his attention to the Headmaster who proceeded to talk about Potter's brillant accomplishment (though not crediting Potter outright – most likely a vain attempt to keep the Potter lovers a bay), the new Head Boy and Girl, and standard school rules. Throughout the feast Draco couldn't help but think how again, the year would definitely suck, dealing with Golden Trio and the "oh you're so wonderful Harry Potter" comments he was likely to hear. His plans to make their life hell offered little comfort.  
As soon as the plates had been cleaned after the feast the Great Hall doors were flung open. In the doorway Flich stood with a girl, presumable Draco's age. She wore black pants, a black cloak, and those muggle shoes he was pretty sure were called converse. Her dark auburn hair fell to her shoulders in shaggy layers, and her blue/green eyes stood out against her flawless ivory skin. Upon seeing her, Dumbledore stood and spoke, "Ah yes, one more announcement before you all head off to bed. This year we will have the honor of a permanent guest! Please welcome Mandella Halsey. Miss Halsey will be attending Hogwarts as a seventh year and living in the Slytherin House. Please bestow on her not only the courtesy you would a guest but the respect you give to your peers. Thank you and everyone of to bed. After Dumbledore's final announcement, Mandella didn't take two steps into the Great Hall but instead turned and quickly walked away. Draco presumed she was headed to the Dungeons but wondered how she knew the way. Not only was he curious about her nonsocial manner but in his mind was the nagging feeling that he'd met her before. Who was she and why was she studying at Hogwarts?  
  
A/N: That's the first chapter. Let me know what you think and sorry if they're any spelling/grammer mistakes. The chapters to come will be longer and obviously the R rating will count. 


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